Catalog Description: Environmental geology is an introductory survey to some of the various processes that help to shape our earth, the resources that come from it, and the problems that arise from their use. Lab studies will investigate such problems as flooding, faulting,
Semester Credit Hours: 4 Lecture Hours per Week: Lab Hours per Week: Contact Hours per Semester: 96 State Approval Code: 0301025339
Perspectives (Those marked with a √ reflect the state-mandated perspectives
taught in this course.)
Establish broad and multiple perspectives
on the individual in relationship to the larger society and world in which
he/she lives, and to understand the responsibilities of living in a culturally
and ethnically diversified world.
Stimulate a capacity to discuss and
reflect upon individual, political, economic, and social aspects of life in
order to understand ways in which to be a responsible member of society.
Recognize the importance
of maintaining health and wellness.
Develop a capacity to use knowledge
of how technology and science affect their lives.
Develop personal values for ethical
behavior.
Develop the ability to make
aesthetic judgments.
Use logical reasoning in problem solving.
Integrate knowledge and understand
the interrelationships of the scholarly disciplines.
Exemplary Objectives (Those marked with a √ reflect state-mandated exemplary
objectives taught in this course.)
Natural Sciences: The objective of the study of
a natural sciences component of a core curriculum is to enable the student
to understand, construct, and evaluate relationships in the natural sciences,
and to enable the student to understand the bases for building and testing
theories.
To understand and apply method and appropriate technology to the study
of natural sciences.
To recognize scientific and quantitative methods and the differences
between these approaches and other methods of inquiry and to communicate
findings, analyses, and interpretation both orally and in writing.
To identify and recognize the differences among competing scientific
theories.
To demonstrate knowledge of the major issues and problems facing modern
science, including issues that touch upon ethics, values and public
policies.
To demonstrate knowledge of the interdependence of science and technology
and their influence on, and contribution to, modern culture.
Instructional Goals and Purposes:
Lee College's instructional goals include 1) creating an academic atmosphere
in which students may develop their intellects and skills and 2) providing
courses so students may receive a certificate/an associate degree or transfer
to a senior institution that offers baccalaureate degrees.
General Course Objectives:
Successful completion of this course will promote the general student learning
outcomes listed below. The student will be able
To
become acquainted with the basic principles of the Earth Sciences.
To develop and know scientific methods and the evolution of scientific
thought.
To explain physical phenomena in proper, clear, technical terms.
To develop laboratory and field techniques of observing, experimenting,
measuring, presentation of results, and drawing inferences from these techniques.
Specific Course Objectives:
Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be able
To understand the complexity of interrelationships inherent
with humanity's impact on the world and the ethical and moral attitudes of
society in shaping environmental thinking.
To demonstrate the ecological principles that are basic to
an understanding of environmental interactions and the flow of matter and
energy in ecosystems.
To explain the implication of human population growth and
human population structure to the world's ecosystems.
To explain the historical importance of fossil fuels and the
problems of developing alternate fuels.
To explain land, water, and soil use practices and their impact
on the natural ecosystem.
To describe the major types of air pollution, solid waste
pollution, and hazardous and toxic waste pollution.
Course Content:
Students will be required to do the following
An Overview of Earth's Development
Describe the process by which the solar system is believed to have
formed, and explain why it led to planets of different compositions,
even though the planets formed simultaneously.
Develop an understanding of the age of the solar system and how recently
human beings have come to influence the physical environment.
Explain how the newly formed earth differed from the earth we know
today.
Determine information used to understand the internal composition of
the earth.
Understand how the earth's atmosphere and ocean formed.
Differentiate the differences among: facts, scientific hypotheses,
and scientific theories.
State how the size of the earth's human population directly affects
the severity of many environmental problems. Explain this
idea in the context of (a) resources and (b) pollution.
Explain that if earth's population has already exceeded the earth's
carrying capacity, what are the implications for achieving a comfortable
standard of living worldwide.
State the world's present population, to the nearest billion and how
recent population growth rates (over the last few centuries) compare
with earlier times and why.
Explain the concepts of doubling time and how population doubling time
has been changing through history.
To explain the approximate doubling time of the world's population
at present.
Identify what regions of the world currently have the fastest rates
of population growth; the slowest.
Briefly evaluate the feasibility of space colonization as a means of
alleviating land and natural-resource shortages.
Rocks and Minerals
Briefly define the following terms: ion, isotope, compound, mineral,
and rock.
Identify what two properties uniquely define a particular mineral.
Give the distinctive chemical characteristics of each of the following
mineral groups: silicates, carbonates, sulfides, oxides, and native
elements.
Define an igneous rock and how volcanic and plutonic rocks differ in
texture.
Define the two principal classes of sedimentary rocks.
Name several possible sources of the heat or pressure that can cause
metamorphism.
Define porosity and permeability.
Explain what causes strain in rocks and how do elastic and plastic
materials differ in their behavior.
Explain the rock cycle.
Plate Tectonics
Explain plate tectonics, and how continental drift and seafloor spreading
relate to it.
Define the terms lithosphere and asthenosphere and where the lithosphere
and asthenosphere are found?
Describe two kinds of paleomagnetic evidence supporting the theory
of plate tectonics.
Cite at least three kinds of evidence, other than paleomagnetic evidence,
for plate tectonics.
Explain how a subduction zone forms and what occurs at such a plate
boundary.
Define hot spots, and how they help to determine the rates and directions
of plate movements.
Explain two possible driving forces for plate movements.
Describe the rock cycle in terms of plate tectonics.
Earthquakes
Explain the concept of fault creep and its relationship to the occurrence
of damaging earthquakes.
Define an earthquake's focus and its epicenter. Explain why
deep-focus earthquakes concentrated in subduction zones.
Name the two kinds of seismic body waves, and explain how they differ.
Explain what the assignment of an earthquake's magnitude is based and
explain if magnitude is the same as intensity.
List at least three kinds of earthquake-related hazards, and describe
what, if anything, can be done to minimize the danger that each poses.
Define a seismic gap, and why is it a cause for concern.
Note at least two earthquake precursors that might be explained through
the dilatancy model, and relate the changes they show to that model.
Evaluate fluid injection as a possible means of minimizing the risks
of large earthquakes.
Explain what mechanism, if any, exits in the United States for warning
people of earthquake hazards.
Explain why areas identified as high risk on the seismic-risk map of
the United States may not have had significant earthquake activity
for a century or more, and why they are mapped as high-risk regions.
Volcanoes
Define a fissure eruption, and give an example.
Define shield volcanoes and explain why they are not especially hazardous
to life.
Explain why the eruptive style of Mount St. Helens is quite different
from that of Kilauea in Hawaii.
Define pyroclastics and identify a kind of volcanic structure that
pyroclastics may build.
Describe two strategies for protecting an inhabited area from an advancing
lava flow.
Define a nuee ardente, and why a volcano known for producing nuees
ardentes is a special threat during periods of volcanic activity.
Explain the nature of a phreatic eruption, and give an example.
Explain how volcanic eruptions may influence global climate.
Discuss the distinctions among active, dormant, and extinct volcanoes,
and comment on the limitations of this classification scheme.
Describe two precursor phenomena that may precede volcanic eruptions.
Explain the underlying cause of present and potential future volcanic
activity in the Cascade
Range of the western United States.
Streams and Flooding
Explain stream load, and what factors control it.
Describe why stream sediments tend to be well sorted and relate sediment
transport to competence and variations in water velocity.
Explain how enlargement and migration of meanders contribute to floodplain
development.
Discuss the relationship between flooding and (a) precipitation, (b)
soil characteristics, and (c)vegetation.
Explain how upstream and downstream floods differ? Give an example
of an event that might cause each type of flood.
Define flood-frequency curve and recurrence interval?
Explain what is a major limitation of these measures.
Describe two ways in which urbanization may increase local flood hazards.
Sketch the change in stream response as it might appear on a hydrograph.
Explain how channelization and levee construction may reduce local
flood hazards, but they may worsen the flood hazards elsewhere along
a stream.
Outline two potential problems with flood-control dams.
List several appropriate land uses for floodplains that minimize risks
to lives and property.
Shorelines and Coastal Processes
Explain and sketch how high storm tides may cause landward recession
of dunes. Explain this phenomenon, using a sketch if you wish.
Evaluate the use of riprap and seawalls as cliff protection structures.
Explain longshore currents and how they cause littoral drift.
Sketch a shoreline on which a jetty has been placed to restrict littoral
drift; indicate where sand erosion and deposition will subsequently
occur and how this will reshape the shoreline.
Discuss the pros and cons of sand replenishment as a strategy for stabilizing
an eroding beach.
Name three ways in which the relative elevation of land and sea may
be altered and discuss the present trend in global sea level?
Briefly explain the formation of (a) wave-cut platforms and (b) drowned
valleys.
Define barrier islands, and why have they proven to be particularly
unstable environments for construction.
Define an estuary and discuss why estuaries constitute such distinctive
costal environments.
Name at least two ways in which the dynamics of a coast line over a
period of years can be investigated.
Mass Movements
Explain in general terms why landslides occur and two factors particularly
influence slope stability.
Earthquakes are one landslide-triggering mechanism; water can be another. Evaluate
the role of water in mass movements.
Differentiate between quick clays and sensitive clays.
Describe at least three ways in which development of hillsides may
aggravate landslide hazards.
Give two ways to recognize soil creep and one way to identify sites
of past landslides.
Briefly explain the distinctions among falls, slides, and flows.
Evaluate common slope-stabilization measures include physical modifications
to the slope itself or the addition of stabilizing features. Choose
and three such strategies and explain how they work.
Ice, Wind and Climate
Discuss ways in which glaciers might be manipulated for use as a source
of water.
Briefly describe the formation and annual cycle of an alpine glacier.
Define a moraine.
Explain how moraines can be used to reconstruct past glacial extent
and movements.
Define an ice age. Choose any two proposed causes of past ice
ages and evaluate the plausibility of each. (Is the effect on global
climate likely to have been large enough? Long enough? Is there
any evidence to support the proposal?)
Explain the green house effect and its relationship to modern industrialized
society.
Explain how, greenhouse effects notwithstanding, global temperatures
might have declined since 1940.
Explain the principal concerns related to continued greenhouse-effect
heating and the time scale they might be significant.
Describe how sunlight falling on the earth's surface is a factor in
wind circulation.
Explain by what two principal processes wind erosion occurs.
Briefly describe the process by which dunes form and migrate.
Define loess and if the sediment must invariably be of glacial derivation,
as much U.S. loess appears to be.
Assess the significance of loess to (a) farming and (b) construction.
Define desertification and describe two ways in which human activities
contribute to the process.
Water As a Resource
Define the following terms: groundwater, water table, and potentiometric
surface.
Explain how an artesian aquifer system is formed.
Explain how sinkholes develop and what name is given to a terrane in
which sinkholes are common.
Explain three parameters used to describe groundwater quality.
Define hard water and why is it often considered undesirable.
Describe two possible consequences of groundwater withdrawal exceeding
recharge.
Explain the process of saltwater intrusion.
Explain the ways urbanization may affect groundwater recharge.
Explain why industry is the big water user, but agriculture is the
big water consumer.
Compare and contrast filtration and distillation as desalination methods,
noting advantages and drawbacks of each.
Explain what factor presently limits the potential of desalination
to alleviate agricultural water shortages.
• Soil As a Resource
Briefly explain how the rate of chemical weathering is related to (a)
the amount of precipitation, (b)the temperature, and (c) the amount
of mechanical weathering.
Sketch a generalized soil profile and indicate the A horizon, B horizon,
zone of leaching, and zone of accumulation. Discuss whether
such a profile is always present.
Compare and contrast pedalfer and pedocal types of soil and in what
kind of climate each is more common.
Explain why the lateritic soil of the tropical jungle is poor soil
for cultivation.
Explain why soil erosion during active urbanization is far more rapid
than it is on cultivated farmland, and yet the majority of soil-conservation
efforts are concentrated on farmland.
Cite and briefly describe three strategies for reducing cropland erosion.
Mineral Resources
Explain how economics and concentration factor relate to the definition
of an ore.
Describe two examples of magmatic ore deposits.
Explain why hydrothermal deposits are associated with magmatic activity,
which, in turn, is concentrated at plate boundaries.
Define evaporate and give an example of a common evaporite mineral.
Explain how stream action may lead to the formation of placer deposits
and why there is interest in exploring for placers on the continental
shelves.
Explain how as mineral reserves are exhausted, some resources may be
reclassified as reserves.
How might plate-tectonic theory contributes to the search for new ore
deposits?
Describe what metallic mineral resource is found over much of the deep-sea
floor, and what political problem arises in connection with it.
Explain why aluminum and lead are comparatively easy to recycle, while
steel is less so.
Describe one hazard associated with underground mining.
Explain what steps are involved in strip-mine reclamation and if land
can always be fully restored to its pre-mining condition with sincere
effort.
Explain why tailings from mineral processing are a potential environmental
concern.
Energy Resources--Fossil Fuels
Explain why a society's level of technological development strongly
influences its per capita energy consumption.
Define fossil fuels.
Briefly describe how oil and gas deposits form and mature.
Compare and contrast past and projected U.S. consumption of petroleum
and coal.
Define enhanced recovery and why is it of interest. Give at least two
examples of the method.
Explain the nature of geopressurized natural gas resources, and note
at least one obstacle to their exploitation.
Define coal and why is it a less versatile fuel than oil, and how its
versatility might be increased.
Explain what air-pollution problems are associated particularly with
coal, relative to other fossil fuels.
List and describe at least three potential negative environmental impacts
of coal mining.
Compare oil shales and tar sands.
Cite and explain oil shale and tar sand share several drawbacks. Cite
and explain several of these.
Energy Resources--Alternative Sources
Briefly describe the nature of the fission chain reaction used to generate
power in commercial nuclear power plants and how the energy released
is utilized.
Explain why if the nuclear power option is pursued, breeder reactors
and fuel reprocessing will be necessary. Discuss additional safety
and security concerns involved.
Define "decommissioning" in a nuclear-power context.
Describe the fusion process, and evaluate its advantages and present
limitation.
Explain in what areas solar energy might potentially make the greatest
contributions toward our energy needs.
Explain what technological limitations solar and wind energy presently
share.
Explain the nature of geothermal energy and how it is extracted.
Describe factors that restrict the use of geothermal energy in time
and in space and how hot-dry-rock geothermal areas expand its potential.
Assess the potential of (a) conventional hydropower and (b) tidal power
to help solve impending energy shortages.
Define biomass fuels and describe two examples.
Compare and contrast any two energy sources from this chapter in terms
of the negative environmental impacts associated with each.
Waste Disposal
Identify two kinds of activities that generate the most solid wastes.
Describe the advantages a sanitary landfill has over an open dump and
describe three pathways through which pollutants may escape from
a landfill site.
Explain the fact that landfills and incinerators both can serve as
energy sources.
Explain why use of in-sink garbage disposal units in the home is sometimes
described as "on-site disposal" and if this phrase is accurate.
Compare the relative ease of recycling (a) glass bottles, (b) paper,
(c) plastics, (d) copper, and (e) steel, noting what factors make
the practice more or less feasible in each case.
Compare the dilute-and-disperse and concentrate-and-contain philosophies
of liquid-waste disposal.
Outline the relative merits and drawbacks of deep-well disposal and
of incineration as disposal strategies for toxic liquid wastes.
Describe the kinds of limitations which restrict the use of septic
tanks.
Suggest possible uses for large volumes of sludge produced by municipal
sewage treatment, and note any factors that might restrict its use.
Evaluate the advantages, disadvantages, and possible concerns relating
to disposal of high-level radioactive wastes in (a) subduction zones,
(b) sediments on the deep sea floor, (c) basalt, and (d) bedded salt.
Water Pollution
Explain the concept of residence time; illustrate with respect to some
dissolved constituent in seawater.
Explain in what way human activities most commonly alter the cycles
of naturally occurring elements.
Identify what characteristic of the so-called heavy metals causes them
to be especially hazardous to humans and other animals high in food
chains.
Explain why potentially harmful health effects of organic compounds
constitute a major area of concern.
Define BOD and explain how is it related to the oxygen-sag curve often
noted in streams below sources of organic-waste matter.
Define thermal pollution and explain the activity from which it principally
originates. Discuss in what sense is it a less-worrisome kind of
pollution than most types of chemical pollution.
Cite at least three possible sources of the nutrients that contribute
to eutrophication of water; explain the concept. Explain why eutrophic
conditions are generally considered undesirable.
Explain what kinds of pollution can be reduced by the use of settling
ponds.
Briefly describe two after-the-fact approaches to reducing water pollution,
and note their limitations.
Air Pollution
Describe the principal sources and sinks for atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Explain why carbon monoxide is a pollutant of local, rather than global,
concern.
Identify the origin of the various nitrogen oxides that contribute
to photochemical smog.
Define photochemical smog and under what circumstances this problem
is most severe.
Explain how ozone is an excellent example of the chemical-out-or-place
definition of a
pollutant and contrast the effects of ozone in the ozone layer with
ozone at ground level.
Identify what radiation hazard is associated with indoor air pollution,
and why has it only recently become a subject of concern.
Identify what pollutant species is believed to be primarily responsible
for acid rain and the principal source of this pollutant.
Explain briefly why the seriousness of the problems posed by acid rain
may vary with local geology.
Describe the phenomenon of a thermal inversion. Give an example of
a geographic setting that might be especially conducive to the development
of an inversion. Outline the role of thermal inversion in intensifying
air-pollution episodes.
Briefly explain how federal emissions-control regulations for automobiles
have led to improvements in air quality with respect to some but
not all pollutants in auto exhaust systems.
Medical Geology
Define trace elements and discuss if the trace elements in humans are
the same as those in rocks.
Draw a hypothetical dose-response curve and explain it.
Outline the pathways through which trace elements enter the body, noting
both natural
processes and human activities that alter the elements' concentrations
along the way.
Explain why links between regional soil chemistry and health may nowadays
be easier to recognize in less-developed countries.
Suggest several possible explanations of the apparent connection between
hardness and the incidence of heart disease as is well documented
in many countries.
Explain how a correlation in time or space between two factors or events
indicate a cause and-effect relationship between them.
Describe how the concentration of one trace element may alter the effect
of another and how this complicates medical geology.
Environmental Law
Compare and contrast the basic concepts of the riparian and appropriation
doctrines underlying much surface-water law.
Explain why groundwater rights are inherently somewhat more difficult
to define than surface-water rights.
Explain the principal objective behind early (nineteenth-century) federal
mineral-resource laws and how the emphasis has shifted over the
last century.
Define exclusive economic zones and give two examples of types of mineral
resources they might encompass.
Discuss some of the difficulties of defining and achieving "zero
pollutant discharge."
Methods of Instruction/Course Format/Delivery:
Faculty may choose from but are not limited to the following methods of instruction: lecture,
discussion, Internet, video, television, demonstrations, field trips, collaboration,
readings.
Assessment:
Faculty may assign both in- and out-of-class activities to evaluate students'
knowledge and abilities. Faculty may choose from the following methods:
Attendance
Book reviews
Class preparedness and participation
Collaborative learning projects
Compositions
Exams/tests/quizzes
Homework
Internet
Journals
Library assignments
Readings
Research papers
Scientific observations
Student-teacher conferences
Written assignments
Course Grade:
Students' final grades are determined by the following grading scheme:
MATH SCIENCE & EDUCATION » PHYSICAL SCIENCE » GEOLOGY » Degrees/Certificates | Courses